The Snake's place in Alabama lore solid

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009 file photo, former Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler watches before an NFL football game between the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders in Oakland, Calif. Stabler, who led the Raiders to a Super Bowl victory and was the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1974, has died as a result of complications from colon cancer. He was 69. His family announced his death on Stabler's Facebook page on Thursday, July 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)(Photo: AP)

TUSCALOOSA – It was the play that sparked a career of memorable plays.

It was the way he snaked through the thick mud caking Legion Field in Birmingham, racing 53 yards down the sideline for the game-winning touchdown in the memorable 7-3 victory in the 1967 Iron Bowl.

It was a play and a game Stabler would relive time and time again, really whenever an eager Crimson Tide fan — usually of the full-grown adult variety — brought it up to him at charity events or alumni functions.

"You think about some of those plays, for them to stick out in your mind 40-something years later, what an impact that had on football," said former Alabama defensive back Benny Perrin, who still remembers listening to Stabler make plays on his family's home radio in Decatur

Stabler, who died Wednesday after a brief battle with colon cancer had a profound impact on Alabama football even after his playing career ended.

"People have vivid memories of Snake Stabler, especially people that are probably 40-45 years old and older," said Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage, who grew up in Mobile and replaced Stabler as color analyst for Alabama games in 2009. "A lot of people say he's their favorite quarterback — 'I love watching the Snake play' — and he was just a really popular figure. He was an original and people loved that about him."

Stabler embodied all that most fans loved about Crimson Tide football — the free-spirited, good-ol-boy personality off the field juxtaposed with the tough, never-give-up attitude on the field that helped lead the Tide to 28 wins in two seasons as the starting quarterback.

"I think Kenny's style is one of those that people followed because Alabama fans never felt like they were out of a game if he was there," said Tommy Hicks, a longtime sports writer from Mobile. "They always felt like he could do something at the end for the team to win, whether it's run or throw a pass or call a play, or just his presence, and he'd find a way to win."

He was a fan favorite even inside the Alabama locker room.

Former quarterback Richard Todd still remembers a conversation he had with longtime equipment manager Willie Meadows during his senior year in 1975.

"I remember asking him distinctly, I said: 'Willie, you've been here forever. So who's the best Alabama quarterback you ever saw?' " Todd recalled. "He didn't hesitate one second, he said: 'Kenny Stabler.' I said, 'Better than Namath?' and he said, 'Yep.' … And that always stuck with me."

Helping solidify Stabler's place in Alabama lore is how he managed to endear himself with everyone he came in contact with away from the field, especially after his playing days were through.

"When you met him it was like you've known him your whole life," said Perrin, who forged his own legacy as a member of the Tide's 1978 and 1979 national championship teams. "It was like he was more honored to meet me. I told him (one time), 'Man you were my hero growing up,' and he was like, 'Man you were mine when you were playing.'

"He would turn it around and make you feel like you were the hero."

And that didn't just happen for those among the Alabama football fraternity.

Everyday fans had similar experiences with Stabler, a man of the people — especially throughout his home state — by its very definition.

"He always had time for fans, and I think that's what endeared him to the Alabama fans and football fans (in general)," Hicks said. "Anybody that came in contact with him enjoyed spending time with because he made you feel important than it being the other way around."

And he enjoyed the interaction with fans, both for the pleasure of reliving past glory as well as reveling in the shared success as a fan himself.

"He was sort of the symbol of what they wanted their players to be — tough on the field, play hard, win, and then off the field, be active, be approachable." Hicks said. "I wouldn't say he defined a program. I would say he defined an Alabama player in the way Alabama fans would want an Alabama player (to carry themselves)."

When Stabler entered the broadcast booth along Eli Gold, a Crimson Tide legend in his own right, his image was raised to new heights.

"You just got that feeling, whether it was listening to him on the radio or being around him, that he was one of you," Alabama sports radio broadcaster Chris Stewart said. "If you're a fan, he was one of you."

For nearly a decade — nine seasons (1998-2007) — Stabler cheered and gushed over Alabama football, living and dying with each play just like many of the fans listening to his voice all across the state.

"He was such an ambassador for his school, he loved his university, when he came back and did radio for 10 years his popularity increased because people got a chance to hear him every weekend," Savage said.

"When I got the job in 2009 (replacing Stabler as color commentator), my own mother actually said, 'I hope you're good because I love listening to the Snake.' That's kind of the impact he had on people."

But what were once considered youthful indiscretions with alcohol during his playing days — both at Alabama and in the NFL — ultimately caught up with the aging 62-year-old Stabler following a third DUI arrest in 2008.

"Despite some of the things that occurred off the field and outside the arena, he was able to keep his legacy above all of that," Savage said. "As one longtime Alabama fan said to me just yesterday, she said: 'He was a great man and a bad boy.' And I thought that put it pretty well."

So, despite effectively leaving the public arena for the most part over the last few years, his appeal to Alabama fans never faded, as evidenced by the large outpouring of personal stories and interactions with Stabler that flooded message board soon after word of his passing broke Thursday afternoon.

"He'll go down as one of Alabama's all-time greats at any position," Savage said. "I think he'll be remembered with a smile."